‘Chivalry’ assignment at Texas school told girls to dress for men, clean after them

An assignment at a Texas school instructed girls to dress in a “feminine manner to please the men” and “obey any reasonable request of a male,” reports say.

The high school assignment on medieval “chivalry” was removed by Shallowater Independent School District after criticism from parents, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.

“This assignment has been reviewed, and despite its historical context, it does not reflect our district and community values,” Shallowater ISD told the newspaper. “The matter has been addressed with the teacher, and the assignment was removed.”

Brandi D. Addison Davis, a freelance reporter at The Dallas Morning News, tweeted a photo of the assignment for girls.

Here’s a really ... interesting ... assignment on chivalry from @shallowaterisd. They are requiring the female students to lower their heads and curtsy for men; clean up after men; cook for and bring a drink to the men’s class. This goes on for the entire day ... even at home. pic.twitter.com/i81Zr2iAva

— Brandi D. Addison Davis (@BrandiDAddison) March 3, 2021

The instructions for the one-day assignment said “ladies in class will demonstrate to the school how the code of chivalry and standards set in the medieval concept of courtly love carries over into the modern day.”

“All ladies deemed worthy of the honor by the gentlemen will receive 10 points for every signature at the end of the day,” the assignment said. “Fathers and other adult males may insist on following the rules into the evening and may report to the judges.”

A few other instructions included:

• Ladies must address all men respectfully by title, with a lowered head and curtsy.

• Ladies must never criticize a male.

• Ladies must cook (preferably not buy) something for the gentlemen in their class.

• Ladies must walk behind men or walk daintily, as if their feet were bound.

• Outside the classroom, ladies cannot show intellectual superiority if it would offend the men around them.

• Ladies should clean up after the men.

Addison Davis also obtained a photo of the assignment for boys. Here’s how it compares.

They had an assignment for the male but it wasn’t quite the same.... it seems like they just needed to not cuss and know how to address a woman. Not clean up after them. Not act intellectually inferior. pic.twitter.com/70VJfHqXPu

— Brandi D. Addison Davis (@BrandiDAddison) March 4, 2021

Shallowater is city of about 2,500 just northwest of Lubbock.

‘Slave letter’ writing activity had Mississippi students pen a letter home to Africa